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The Patriotic Service Dog Foundation hopes to reduce veteran suicide rates with a little help from man's best friend. Kim Baldonado has the Life Connected report for Sunday, March 19, 2017. (Published Sunday, March 19, 2017)

Post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is taking a significant toll on veterans. Twenty-two service members take their own lives every day.

The Patriotic Service Dog Foundation wants to bring that number down to zero with a little help from man's best friend.

Founder Tom Tackett, a veteran himself, has been training dogs for 40 years, but only recently added service dogs for veterans.

"Twenty-two to zero represents that 22 veterans a day commit suicide and our goal is to make that zero and to this point not one of the veterans who's received a dog from us has committed suicide," Tackett said.

His organization provides free, highly trained service dogs to veterans like Jim Hardin.

The US Marine Corps gunnery sergeant served for 17 years. He said his experiences took an emotional and mental toll.

The dogs are trained to reduce a veteran's anxiety by sitting in between them and strangers. The pups literally watch their owner's back by facing in the opposite direction when asked to sit in public.

And they're also trained to wake their owners from nightmares.

"If they're having a nightmare or flashback, the dog will interrupt them," Tackett said.

Both Tackett and Hardin said it's difficult to explain why the dogs are able to connect with veterans in ways people aren't always able to.

For Hardin, it's a life-changing bond.

He said, "Howie's my battle buddy forever."

Hardin said he's fighting the battle against PTSD one day at a time— with Howie and his wife by his side.